


Help Wanted

by actualChina



Series: Just Add Coffee [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Eventual Smut, M/M, Multi, Other, also more characters will be added as this progresses, ftm gilbert because why not thats rad, same for ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 04:20:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2095569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualChina/pseuds/actualChina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Help Wanted sign is all it took for this Danish bastard to strut into his life. He sighed and began to explain to him a third time that no, he couldn't have free coffee, and no, he could not be bribed to allow otherwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Help Wanted

**Author's Note:**

> Veronique- Seychelles

A _Help Wanted_ sign. That’s all it took.

 

Lukas Bondevik finished adding extra froth to the last cappuccino of his customer’s order before placing it, along with three others, into a carrier, aggravatingly aware of his boss’ eyes boring into the back of his head while he worked. He handed the drinks to the annoyed-looking brunette, stating the total, “That will be $16.32,” as he did for this particular customer every Monday morning. The man nodded and handed him a twenty but dug around in his pockets before coming up with another two cents, one being a euro penny.  Lukas was accustomed to this and had learned that in light of his boss taking to staring him down every time he came out of his office it was unwise to inform the irritable Italian of his mistake; the first time he did the man glared at him with more venom than Lukas had seen in years, though he was blushing a bit in what Lukas had feared was anger but assumed was more embarrassment before starting to rant at him in Italian, though quietly, for which he was thankful. He handed the man’s change back to him and wondered if wishing the back of his head a good day would grant himself some mercy during whatever talk his boss was sure to give him sooner or later. He heard a shuffling from the direction of Vash’s office and internally sighed. _Sooner, it would seem._

“Lukas, when these customers are taken care of, I need to talk to you for a moment, in my office,” he curtly stated before going back and closing the door. This had become a semi-regular occurrence, though in the past it was about covering his coworker’s days off, but after firing the one taking extended vacation and sick days off and hiring a rather gullible high school girl to cover anyone else’s legitimate off days, Lukas hadn’t had to worry about that. His boss’ recent interest in him though, that was likely to bring about a whole new reason to try and bribe his doctor for stronger pills.

Two customers later he was packaging the last of their cinnamon rolls and making a mental note to heat more up after the talk with his boss. _Ugh_. He gave it, along with eleven cookies, four chocolate doughnuts, seven muffins, five brownies, and a dozen glazed doughnuts to the little English boy who came in either Sunday or Monday morning to buy any pastries they had with what Lukas was certain was stolen cash, considering his clothes weren’t exactly trending luxuries and he always paid with fifties or higher. Wanting to put off the little _talk_ with his boss as long as he could, he inquired about the fifty handed to him.

“So, how is it that a little eight year old is able to get a hold of so much money?” The already grinning child seemed to absolutely _beam_ when he asked. “You come in here every week and buy so much, but you never have either of your parents with you,” his smile faltered for a moment at that, “And you don’t’ ever want your change back. What’s the deal?” He took the change from the register and pocketed it, as was his usual.

“Hey! I’m not eight I’m nine! And I’m not little either!” he paused a moment, pondering something, “My brother tells me not to talk to strangers, but long story short his boyfriend is planning something really, really big for him next spring!” he chimed, then added as an afterthought, “That’s when they met last year, my life’s been dreadful since.” He made a face and continued, “I walked in on his boyfriend talking on the phone with whomever, and he was sure I heard the conversation, but he wanted me to keep quiet about it, so I said I would, at a price! And get this, it used to be just ten dollars!” he smirked before  hoisting himself onto the counter so that only his arms supported him and leaned in close to whisper, “And don’t tell anyone, but between you and me, I never even heard a thing!” The boy grinned ear to ear while he got back down.

Lukas was equally impressed with the boy’s quick thinking as he was dumbfounded by how desperate whoever this boyfriend must be to give a child fifty dollars every week just to keep quiet about something. He had to hand it to him though; he must be a manipulative little shit to work ten up to fifty. “That’s impressive, kid,” his lips turned up a bit at the thought of this boy haggling an adult. “But why are you letting me have the rest? Why not spend it?”

The boy shrugged before taking his bag of treats, and while turning to leave, he laughed, “I certainly don’t need extra money, at least that’s what my brother tells me,” he paused at the door and turned. “I sort of agree, but of course I get this stuff from here,” he held up the bag, “and a new toy if I feel like it. And you’re an adult, so you need it more than me, yeah?” Lukas raised his eyebrow a fraction and nodded.

“You’re very mature for your age, kid. Enjoy those.”

The boy waved him off, “I will!” and belted out as the door closed, “OH! And my name’s Peter!” Peter waved goodbye as he went down the sidewalk.

“Lukas!” he pointed to himself, unsure and neutral about if Peter heard him. The door to his boss’s office opened and he glanced over to see Vash looking at him like he grew another head. Lukas felt a rare need to explain himself but was cut off by a shake of his boss’ head.

“Doesn’t matter, in my office, now.”

He retreated back into his office and went to close the door again but seemed to reconsider and left it open.

Lukas took off his apron and set it on the counter before sighing out loud and drumming his fingers, thinking over what this could be about. _I’ve not shown up late, I’ve taken any and all extra days, worked overtime- Do other coffee shops even have overtime as an option?- and I’ve reached his sell quota all but once. I know other coffee shops don’t have those, at least not a daily one hung on the espresso machine._ He glanced over to said machine in earnest and half-heartedly glared at the list, evidence of one of many ridiculous standards Vash has for his employees. He begrudgingly went to the door before glancing around the store for any other excuse to put off the likely headache-inducing talk or migraine-inducing argument. Upon finding none, he put on his best poker face and went in.  

“Sit down,” the short blond ordered. To most his attitude would make them fear having to find a new job, but Lukas had worked with him long enough to know that this was his attitude when he was everything but sad or angry, in which he would be even more short with people, how that was possible most failed to understand. He sat in the single dining room chair in front of the antique desk while taking in his boss’ office. The furniture consisted of his desk and chair, a table host to a coffee machine- _Is this man senile he owns a damn coffee shop_ \- and the chair in which he sat, and he would bet it belonged to whatever dining set he had at home. _The guy's as stingy with his money as Emil is with his room._

Given that the few decorations in the office never changed, looking around was never much entertainment. The rifle set on the wall behind Vash looked shinier than usual, so there’s that at least. Lukas’ gaze dropped momentarily to the corner of his boss’ desk that housed his pistol, or rather rumored to. Antonio was the one to tell him about it, and while he would normally believe that since it’s Vash, this is Antonio we’re talking about.  Lukas once convinced him that tomatoes weren’t a fruit, but in fact a type of advanced-stage fungus and that eating them raw was lethal and that the reason he hadn’t heard of it was because they only had stories of the deaths on the TV during the four o’clock news while he had his siesta. He cried.

Vash was filling out a form that looked similar to what he had given Lukas his first day, though he had little time to dwell on it as his boss clicked his pen and looked up at him with his usual annoyed and wary expression, though his lips twitched up a bit.

“Lukas, before we get into something over this, I want you to know that you are by far the best employee I’ve had; you work hard and you have always taken extra days when I have needed or wanted you to.” _This can’t be good._ “But even so, I’m afraid that I’ve noticed a reoccurring problem with you and the customers that can’t be ignored, for the sake of the business,” _What could be so horrible that he would complement me first?_ “And you’re well aware that I’m not the best with breaking things easy to people, so I apologize,” _Wow, he’s punched people and refused to apologize._ “But Lukas, you need to change your face,”

_What_. “What?”

“I worded that poorly. You need to be friendlier with the customers; more personable,” Vash leaned back in his chair, waiting for a reaction.

“I… But I am friendly with the customers; I talk with them just like Antonio, Toris, and Veronique do. Maybe not as much, but I still do.”

Vash sighed and gestured to Lukas’ face, “That’s what I’m talking about though, not the lack of talking or anything like that, I mean just… you in general, the lack of emotion and expression,”

“Words hurt, Vash.”

Vash was well aware of Lukas’ attitudes as well and when he was being serious. This was not one of those times.

“Lukas, you have to understand that I am trying to get as many recurring customers in here as I can manage, and the apathetic attitude you utilize with ninety eight percent of them isn’t helping me!”

“They don’t mind that much,”

Vash pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. “They mind enough to have mentioned it multiple times when I’ve gone out to ask if everyone is doing alright-“

“You haven’t done that in two months,”

“And beyond that I’ve seen some customers shrink away from you when you’re asking for their order or giving them their total,”

“If it’s only a few that’s not a big deal-“

“Damnit man stop interrupting me! It’s more than a few and it is a big deal! You’re costing me customers out there because of…” he failed to find the words and just gestured to him again.

“Ouch, low blow,” before the blond could snap at him once more for not being serious, he continued, “So are you firing me because of this,” he gestured to himself, “or is this a warning?”

He squinted at him a moment before replying “It’s an opportunity. For both you and our newest member,”

Lukas had to process the words. “Newest member? Who? I didn’t know you were looking for another worker.” He nearly hissed out the last sentence, but caught himself after ‘know’. He had been looking for a convenient job for his little brother since he had expressed interest in getting one. Lukas had been at it for weeks, but nothing would match up with their schedules. If they both worked here, though, it would have been enjoyable for the both of them.

Ignoring his slip in attitude, Vash explained “I had posted a Help Wanted sign in the window during Toris’ last shift, and this man came in within the hour asking about it. We had the interview and he checked out fine, and with him here all of your shifts will be cut down by a little over an hour,” He nodded matter-of-factly, proud of himself for being a good boss. “But before that can happen I need you to train him, and the both of you will work your shift for the next few weeks.”

“Three _weeks_?” If he were standing he would have taken a step back. He furrowed his brow and asked, “How brain-dead is this guy?”

Vash looked like he wanted to backhand him but sighed and pressed his lips together. “Ironic. As much as I want you training him, I want him to train you, Lukas.”

_What the fuck is that supposed to mean, you little-_ “I beg your pardon?” he inquired, crossing his arms.

“He’s going to help you be more personable, in turn keeping my customers and,” he leaned forward a bit and narrowed his eyes at him, “your job.”

_Oh._ Without being told twice, Lukas figured out what kind of person this new _recruit_ was going to be; happy, go-lucky, likely careless, probably an airhead. On top of that, he was going to ‘teach’ him how to be just like him. He prayed to any deity listening that it wasn’t that American friend of Toris’, he had come in only twice during his shift and that was enough ‘dude’s’ and talk about the current football teams to last him the year. _Please tell me it isn’t that infuriating blond American jock friend of Toris’._

“Oh, no, don’t worry, I wouldn’t hire him if you paid me,” Vash muttered. _Shit, I actually said that out loud._

“Then who…?” He let the question hang in the air, internally restless about what this person would be like. At least it’s not that blond idiot. _Is it another American? They can be a little much to handle… Damnit, Vash, spit it out!_

His boss got up and went over to the door on the adjacent wall of the entrance. It led to what Lukas was certain used to be an employee lounge in the original floor plan, but was walled off to the outside and accessible only to Vash, who had the only key to the door. Lukas feared that his little _opportunity_ was behind that door. He mentally braced himself, trying to will that whoever it was would be the most arrogant, loud-mouthed American he had ever seen. If you have your hopes low, they can’t be let down, right? Vash opened the door as Lukas stood up out of politeness to greet the stranger.

_What an opportunity this is_ , he droned to himself, taking in the taller blond. His shoes were scuffed, white Sketchers brand, one untied. _I thought they only made those for children?_  His jeans were baggy but fit rather snugly around his hips, which lead up to the grey graphic tee with a red deadmau5 head on its center. Lukas’ eyes didn’t stay there long, but rather moved to his colorful writs that had rubber… _My Little Pony bracelets. Seriously_. Lukas snapped his eyes up to those of his new _partner_. _Ugh_. Vash was still looking at him rather than the new guy, so fortunately for him he wasn’t caught drinking from a flask engraved with the Carlsberg logo by his new boss. _What an opportunity this is, indeed. Wait, Carlsberg is the most popular beer in… no, no, must be a coincidence._

The man’s eyes widened and he quickly capped and hid the flask in his jeans. The stranger put his hands on his hips and gave Lukas an onceover, the attention enough to make him shift his footing, which for Lukas was the equivalent of squirming under his gaze. _Gross_. The man’s gaze traveled everywhere, and took his time to do so as his eyebrows slowly raised, Lukas crossing his arms and pressed his lips together. He locked eyes with the stranger and tried to telepathically inform him that if he kept looking at him like a piece of food he was going to choke him with his necklace. The necklace he just now noticed, hanging to the middle of his chest, with what he thought was a simple white cross on a pink background, but upon further inspection it looked more re- _Dear god no._

His boss introduced them to each other, “Lukas Bondevik, this is your new partner, Mathias Køhler. He’s from somewhere in Scandinavia too-“

“Denmark!”

“-So I’m sure you’ll both get along fine; similar childhoods and what have you,” _Oh my god_. Lukas opened his mouth to object, but Vash had drug Mathias by the arm from the doorway towards the exit, grabbing the stunned Norwegian along the way. He unceremoniously put them outside of his office and before closing his door, remarked to Lukas while checking the time on his watch, “Remember what I told you, and I’m serious about it. Good luck.”

He all but slammed the door in their faces, and immediately Lukas was regretting not breaking one of the machines to have an excuse to put that little meeting off. Mathias leaned down some and whispered too close to his ear for comfort, “What’s his deal- he even acted pissed when I said I’d help you not be so apapathetic or whatever,”

Lukas rolled his eyes and let out a deep sigh. _Forget bribery, death threats will suffice if my doctor doesn’t give me stronger pills._ He turned to meet the Dane’s gaze, which was low for whatever reason Lukas chose not to dwell on before snapping up to his glaring eyes as he leaned forward some, Lukas leaning back in response. “It’s _apathetic_ , you great oaf,” he realized his blunder and was debating about apologizing before the man laughed.  It was quiet and nothing more than a chuckle, but it was… pleasant, and less obnoxious than he imagined it would be. _Speaking of obnoxious._ He hadn’t noticed his hair until now, but he didn’t understand how he missed it; its gravity-defying styling had to have taken hours to figure out how to do properly. His brother once tried to style his hair to look like god knows what, but ultimately failed. It had taken him the entire day to admit defeat, though he had mentioned he was close around the three hour mark. Oh, Mathias was saying something.

“-te for a Norwegian.” He nudged him with his arm before continuing, “Most the ones I know are either really angry or annoyed lookin’, at least they get that way ‘round me. Dunno why.” He looked away a moment before his eyes came back to Lukas’ own. “Like he said,” he gestured to the door, “I’m Mathias! Great to meet you, Lukas!” The Dane stood straight and held up his hand. His voice wasn’t as aggravating as he feared it could be from that brief outburst earlier.

Lukas glanced to his hand and held out his own, nodding, “Same to you.” Mathias grabbed his hand and clasped his other around it, shaking with vigor and childlike energy. He smiled, and it encompassed his entire face; nose, eyes, and mouth crinkling with the expression. Lukas went slack jawed for the briefest of moments before the Dane started to speak again, releasing his hand.

“So!” He clapped his hands together and widened his stance a fraction, “First day on the job, what do you want to teach me first?” He dashed around Lukas and grabbed a cup from under the counter. He glanced around the machines, “Ennie, meenie, miney… moe!” Moe was apparently the espresso machine; he went up and allotted himself a free ‘sample’ into the largest cup they had. Lukas’ eyes widened at the thought of the man on _espresso_ of all things and quickly made his way to the other end of the counter to pull the man-child’s hands away from the machine.

“We are not allowed to drink while working!” Mathias actually _pouted_ but did come off the machine. Lukas glanced down to the already half-full steaming cup, the blond’s eyes following his before widening as they locked eyes again.

“No.”

The Dane glanced down at the espresso again before looking back up to blue-violet eyes. His arm tensed and while he fully intended to shoot it, burnt throat be damned, Lukas was much faster and slapped the cup out of his hand, causing it to spin in the air before landing over the counter.

“Hey! Watch it, what do you think you’re doing?” They both looked over to the man barely an inch from where the coffee cup had flown over the counter. Lukas’ heart almost jumped in his throat because _Oh my god this is it if he doesn’t sue me, Vash will undoubtedly fire me, Jesus H Christ Lukas you fu- God damnit it’s just the_ Prussian _. As if this day wasn’t aggravating enough._

Mathias seemed frozen to the spot, and he understood why; this idiot’s hoodie was covered in splatter stains, all of them dark and varying from various browns to blacks, but they were always there, and from how he smelled they were from motor oil and lubricant. Lukas glanced back at him and assured, “Those stains have always been there, he didn’t get hit by the coffee.” Their eyes met again and he mouthed, ‘Are you sure?’, Lukas rolling his eyes in response. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Y’know you should be more careful; if you hurt a customer, say like little ol’ me, I could s-“

“Gilbert I know of three _distinctly_ different reasons which would ruin your friendship with at least four people,” he tapped his fingers on the counter, used to such conversations, “Which is two more friendships than you actually have, but they’ll still be ruined none the less.”

“Ouch, Luke, right for the jugular.”

“Do not call me Luke.”

“Alright, whatever, you win! Just give me the usual.” He pulled a ten out of his pocket, or what would be a ten if it weren’t folded into the smallest shape he could manage and then wrapped several layers thick in see-through tape, as was his custom to do every time he came here. Lukas was fairly certain the man actually didn’t hold anything against him but rather saw it as a huge, hilarious joke. He always let him keep the change for having to unwrap it. How kind.

“Yeah, yeah.” He took the ball and drew a crisp ten from his own wallet to be put in the cash register, pocketing the abomination of a bill. He pulled two cups from their stacks and went to fill the order before stepping in the spilled espresso. Suddenly remembering the Dane’s presence, he looked up at him for a moment, acknowledging his bowed head. _Still embarrassed over that, how cute. Wait what._ Lukas shook his head and addressed him, “New guy, clean it up.”

He stepped over the spill and started on the order.

“It’s Mathias!” He could almost hear the grin.

“Mathias, clean it up.” Lukas repeated. “Supplies are over there, in the cabinet.” He pointed to the small, closed doors in the far corner as he put the finishing touches on the two cups; cream and maple syrup, respectively.

He saw Mathias nod out of the corner of his eye and eagerly he exclaimed, “Okay, thanks boss!” before- _Did he just wink at me?_ \- going over to the cabinet and shuffling through it before retrieving whatever he deemed suitable and going to the floor to soak up the worst of it. Lukas stepped over him and the spill, giving the _Prussian_ his coffee, choosing to ignore his slight smile and raised eyebrow.

“Thank you and have a wonderful evening.” He deadpanned.

Beilschmidt looked between him and the general direction where Køhler knelt to. He seemed to be thinking something over- _Don’t hurt yourself._ \- before his usual smirk came back full force as he turned and shrugged. “Same to you, loser!” He practically kicked the door open and talked over his shoulder, “You too blondie!”

Mathias’ head popped up over the counter as he called, “Thanks, man!” before going back to wiping up the spill. Lukas rolled his eyes and estimated how long it would take for his boss to reach his door. _Should be about_ -

“What the hell is all this yelling about?!” _Now_. Lukas turned to answer, but  Vash saw the spilt coffee on the floor before he could. His eyes narrowed and he looked up at him, not paying any mind to his newest employee who definitely wasn’t hiding behind his best one. “Why is there coffee spilt everywhere? It’s even on the counter! And who was yelling?” His eyes widened before narrowing as his eyebrows lowered, an incredibly dangerous expression for the man to wear.

“Lukas Bondevik, did you spill hot espresso on one of my customers?”

Lukas unconsciously took a step back and opened his mouth, but while his speech did lapse he still shook his head no as his thoughts got away from him. _I’m on thin ice as it is with him how am I supposed to convince him that I didn’t spill anything on anyone and why am I not telling him this instead of just shaking my head oh my God Lukas say something your job is on the line here god damnit this is all that Danish bastard’s fault if he hadn’t gotten the espresso in the first pla-_

He felt Mathias stand up behind him, he stammered out “I-It’s my fault, Mr. Zwingli, I had gotten an espresso for the last customer but slipped and spilt it all over the floor, but it didn’t get on anyone, I promise!” He held up his hands, though the right one was blocked by Lukas standing in front of him. He was holding his breath as well, Lukas couldn’t hear it.

Vash looked between them and focused on the shorter of the two, looking for confirmation. Lukas nodded and that was sufficient enough to get their boss to turn on his heel and go back to his office.

“Alright, but don’t let it happen again!” he muttered before closing the door, “Waste of coffee…”

Mathias stepped out from behind him and poked his arm while watching the door, afraid that he may resurface again. “Guy’s scary when he’s mad, damn.” Lukas closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his them and massaged his temples before sighing once more. He opened his eyes to see the idiot smiling at him. It felt odd. He narrowed his eyes a fraction.

“What do you want, twit?”

He faltered for a moment before grinning again, “Are ya this sweet with all the new workers or am I just special?”

“You’re definitely special, but I doubt it’s the same definition that you’re thinking of.”

Regardless of the insult the man seemed to absolutely beam, putting the child from earlier to shame. “Glad to know! First time for everythin’, eh?” Before Lukas had the chance to process that, the Dane put his arm around him and guided him towards the end of the counter. “So, Lukas, from this end to the other,” he pointed with his thumb on his free hand over their shoulders, “Teach me how to do it all.” Lukas looked from him to his arm still draped around him before picking it up by the finger and letting it fall. He continued to stare up at him the same blank expression for a few seconds more, studying his face and obnoxious, dumb, attractive hair before ignoring his own addition of the word ‘attractive’ and getting right into it, starting with the rules Vash has posted next to the baked goods’ prices.

A _Help Wanted_ sign is all it took for this Danish bastard to strut into his life. He sighed and began to explain to him a third time that _no_ , he couldn't have free coffee, and  _no_ , he could not bribe him to allow otherwise. Thinking to himself, Lukas cursed the damned sign with every spell he could remember from his high school Magic Club. Even if they were all from fictional books, movies, or games, he didn’t care if they came off the back of a candy wrapper. Whatever relieved him of his oncoming migraine which didn't involve clocking the man in his pretty face. He slapped himself in the middle of an explanation on why the froth was not to be used for anything or on anything other than coffee, earning a quirked eyebrow and amused grin from the Dane.

“Ya alright there, Lukas?”

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! If you're interested in updates I have literally no plan thought out buT there will be updates that aren't a crazy length apart, and as I get more into the swing of things with writing (it's been a little while since I've done it seriously) I'm sure the chapters will improve in quality and certainly get longer. Until then, ciao! <3


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